"I have great hope that an agreement for a ceasefire in Ukraine will be reached this weekend," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on May 9, shortly before traveling to Kyiv alongside the leaders of France, Poland, and the U.K.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will arrive in Kyiv early on May 10.
The United States embassy in Kyiv on May 9 issued a warning that Russia could launch "a potentially significant" attack in the coming days, despite Putin's self-declared Victory Day "truce."
The sanctioned oil tankers have transported over $24 billion in cargo since 2024, according to Downing Street. The U.K. has now sanctioned more shadow fleet vessels than any other country.
Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
The aftermath of the Russian attacks against Kharkiv Oblast on Sept. 8, 2024. (Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov / Telegram)
Russian strikes killed 11 and injured 32 people over the past day, local authorities reported on Sept. 8.
Ukrainian air defense shot down 15 Shahed-type drones out of the 23 and one Kh-59 guided missile that were launched by Russia overnight on Sept. 8, according to the Air Force. Two Russian drones were "lost" on Ukrainian territory, likely as a result of electronic warfare means, the statement read.
Russia reportedly launched the drones from Kursk Oblast, as well as from Cape Chauda in Russian-occupied Crimea. Russian forces also struck Ukraine with four Kh-59 missiles from Belgorod Oblast.
Ukrainian forces used mobile fire groups, anti-aircraft missile troops, and electronic warfare units to repel the air attack. Air defense systems were activated in Odesa, Kharkiv, and Dnipro oblasts.
InDonetsk Oblast, Russian attacks killed three people in the town of Kostiantynivka, one person in the village of Petrivka and another one in the village of Shcherbynivka. At least 11 people were injured in the oblast, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.
In Sumy Oblast, Russian forces attacked the Hlukhiv community with first-person-view (FPV) drones, guided aerial bombs, and multiple launch rocket systems, injuring a man, local military administration reported.
Russia also struck the Sumy community with guided aerial bombs, killing two and injuring four people, including two children.
In the Kupiansk district of Kharkiv Oblast, two women, aged 73 and 81, were killed in the Russian attacks. Russian strikes also injured five people, including a child, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
In Kherson Oblast, Russian forces attacked 19 settlements over the past day, including its regional center, the city of Kherson. One person was killed, and other nine were injured due to the Russian strikes, the local military administration reported.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russia attacked the Myrove and the Marhanets communities of the Nikopol districts with artillery, killing a 76-year-old woman and injuring two women, aged 60 and 62, according to Governor Serhii Lysak.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Asami Terajima
